Bite
by rscoil
Summary: Christine and her team of space investigators explore a mysterious cave. Something, or someone, lurks in the depths.


"We've landed," Meg announced.

From the captain's chair, Christine let out the breath she'd been holding. Their trip through Gavelyrn's atmosphere had been turbulent, to say the least.

"Well done, ladies," Agnes Giry nodded her approval. "You pulled us out of a sticky situation."

Christine had to agree. Meg and Jammes truly were the best pilots the galaxy had to offer.

Christine might have been captain, but Agnes was the team mom. She looked over at her second in command. Some days, Christine couldn't believe she was supposed to be this imposing woman's boss. Other days, like today, she understood why Agnes preferred the secondary role.

Christine stood from her chair and stretched. "Time to explore."

* * *

It wasn't long before Christine stood on alien soil, flanked by Carlotta and Sorelli. The three women stared into the gaping maw of the cave before them. Instinct screamed at them to turn around. Adrenaline urged them forward.

They were professionals, of course. A special force sent to investigate supernatural happenings in their galaxy. Christine hated that description. She'd been at it for ten years and had yet to encounter anything actually supernatural. More often than not, she ended up rescuing some poor creature whose reputation was amplified by people's fear.

As they entered the cavern, all light was consumed. The light of their lamps only reached a few feet ahead.

A chill entered Christine's bones. The darkness felt alive in the strangest of ways. There was an unmistakable presence in this cave. Was that her own heartbeat she was hearing, or did it belong to the shadows themselves? Did those sounds of movement belong to their tiny group or to an unseen foe?

Still, they moved forward. Their path sloped into the ground and the atmosphere around them grew colder. Christine was thankful for the heaters in her exploration suit. The display in her helmet showed no signs of life apart from her group, yet she had the instinctive feeling that they were being watched.

The mysterious rhythm became more pronounced. It surrounded them, growing louder as they walked.

Behind them came the clatter of a falling rock in an enormous space. The sound was somehow dampened, missing the echo that Christine expected. She spun around to look, but no rocks were visible. There was only the uneven stone floor and the darkness beyond.

She turned back around and her choked scream broke the silence. Two golden eyes stared back at her. Each one was larger than her hand, glowing in the light of her lamp.

But the face they were part of was the true horror. Easily the size of her torso, the giant face looked vaguely human. Its skin was a sickly gray and dappled with areas of decay. Rows of long, sharp teeth glistened in the dim light.

She stared.

The eyes stared back.

She fought to keep a tremor out of her voice. "Are you going to bite me, or what?"

The eyes blinked and a velvet baritone filled the cavern. "Why would Erik bite you?"

"You're looking at me like I'm your dinner." She was amazed that he was speaking her language, and surprised to hear such a voice emanating from those ghastly lips.

His laugh echoed through the cavern. "Humans are not a good food source, I can assure you."

"Do you speak from experience?"

"No, no. It's all hearsay." His face inched closer to hers. "Unless you care to test the theory?"

"Hearsay? Does that mean there are others of your species?"

"Long ago, there were."

"And now?"

"Now, there is only Erik." His face split with a malicious grin. "Those fools banished me to the bowels of the planet, but when the bombs came, it was I who survived."

"Erik? Is that your name?"

"It has been too long since such things mattered. But, if I must have a name, Erik will do. Now, tell me, why does Christine disturb Erik's solitude?"

Christine felt the blood rush from her face. "How do you know my name?"

"A host should know the name of his guests."

"I haven't told you. How do you know?"

"You were courteous enough to wear a label."

Christine felt her heart rate return to normal as she remembered the nametag on her suit. So, he could read as well as speak. Interesting.

"You have not answered my question," Erik continued. "Why are you here?"

"We belong to a special forces unit. Basically, we get sent to check out anything supernatural in the galaxy."

"And am I supernatural?"

"You tell me. It's difficult to see anything beyond your face."

"And it is difficult to see Erik's face in general!" He barked a laugh. "You may see the rest if you wish it."

Christine exchanged a glance with Carlotta and Sorelli before she nodded. "Let's see."

His head dipped in what might have been a bow. Suddenly, a thousand pricks of light filled the cavern. At first glance, Christine thought they might have been candles. Upon further inspection, she saw that they were bioluminescent orbs. And each of those orbs sat astride a leg. What she'd first thought were shiny rocks were, in fact, body segments, each encased with a glossy black exoskeleton. His body stretched on and on, several times the length of her spacecraft.

His torso was almost human, and he had a pair of armlike appendages that ended with long, spiky claws. Each of these was the length of her forearm. He was horrifying and majestic all at once.

He watched them with amusement, leaning on crossed arms to bring his face level with theirs. "So, Christine, am I the monster you came to see?"

"That depends. Are you actually monstrous or just strange to look at?"

A note of bitterness entered his voice. "Most beings don't bother about that distinction."

"I do."

"Hmm. Then perhaps I should remember my manners."

And then his form was changing. He was shrinking before their eyes. The pricks of light coalesced into a single sphere and they were once again surrounded by darkness.

"Follow me." The edges of a door appeared as he spoke.

They stepped through, into a room lined with metal. Various displays lit the walls and spare wires covered an enormous work table.

Christine turned expectantly, wondering if Erik was any less horrifying in the light. To her surprise, she now stood next to a tall man in a dark suit. Erik's face was still unsettling, but less so now that it matched her own in scale.

Carlotta's voice shook as she spoke. "You changed!"

"Indeed. I understand that my kind is less intimidating in this form."

"Is that what you wish to be?" Christine asked. "Less intimidating?"

"A convenient side effect. I prefer this form because it is easier to maneuver."

He turned away and Christine saw that the cape he wore was covering the rest of his body, now miniaturized. He stood upon two humanlike legs, but the segmented part of his body still squirmed with dozens of legs.

Sorelli spoke for the first time since they'd entered the cave. "You're a Corinad."

"I believe a species generally contains more than one, but that is the most recognized name."

"A Corinad? Really?" Christine's eyes lit with excitement. "You were believed extinct for the past five hundred years."

"If memory serves, it should be nearly six hundred human years by now." He gestured for them to sit around the table.

"You must be ancient."

"By your standards, perhaps. The eldest of my species was well over three thousand years old. I am just shy of eight hundred."

"You must know so much," Christine mused. "Why hide yourself away?"

"Corinads were a very proud species. Beautiful. Elegant. Nearly mythical. I might be considered mythical, but I am the monster that the young ones fear at night." He was choosing his words carefully. "I was a shame to my mother. She wanted nothing to do with me and my father hid me away. You must understand that I was not a revered member of my species. They would loathe the fact that I survived."

"What I don't understand," began Carlotta, "is why you speak English."

Erik turned his attention to her. "How do you imagine that one fills eight hundred years of solitude?" His clawed hand gestured to the screens around them. "I have studied."

"Yes, but have you actually seen any of the things you've studied?" Christine asked.

"No." His tone was sour. "I would like to, but I cannot imagine that the universe at large would be much more welcoming than my own species."

Sorelli eyed him curiously. "But you're biologically designed for intergalactic travel. Your body can withstand outlandish pressure changes and you have alternating breathing mechanisms for different atmospheres. You're not made to sit at home in a hole in the ground."

"I do not wish to be a specimen for scientific study," he said pointedly. "The thought is unappealing."

Sensing the tension in his voice, Christine cut in. "Is there anything you want to know about our travels?"

Erik opened his mouth to reply, but was interrupted as the ground quaked around them. The thrum of mechanical equipment thundered through the room. He raised his eyes to the monitor on the wall, and all seven of his hearts sank.

"Invaded at last." The satellite feed showed thirty spacecrafts dotting the surface of the planet. Christine's ship sat in the center, miniscule next to the massive ships.

"My time has come." His tone was resigned.

Christine made a snap decision. "Come with us."

"Pardon?"

"Come with us. Join our team and see all of the things you've read about."

He hesitated for a moment, until the ground shook again.

"I need to pack."

And then he was expanding, his form swelling as the thousand legs went to work with surprising dexterity. Faster than they would have believed possible, he was ready.

"We'll have to make a break for it," said Carlotta. "We don't know if these guys are friendly and I really don't want to know if they're not."

Sorelli nodded her agreement as Christine spoke. "Once we get to the opening of the cave, make a beeline for the loading bay."

"Is there anything I need to know in advance?" Erik asked.

"I don't think so. Just keep a low profile, and we'll be fine. Can you lead us out?"

"Certainly," Erik said as he shrank back to human size.

Before long, they were at the mouth of the cave. Christine could see her ship across the clearing. "Alright, everyone. Let's go."

They were a few steps into the open when she heard the sound of a blaster barrel engaging.

Suddenly, the women were in a shiny black corridor.

"Run!" Erik's voice urged.

Christine could hear the sound of the blasts hitting his exoskeleton, but they were safe. His body formed a protective wall around them.

Ahead, she could see the bay doors opening. Meg's worried face was visible in the gap. Sorelli and Carlotta cleared the threshold with Christine hot on their heels.

Christine stumbled through the doorway as her legs gave out from the exertion. She sank to the floor, removed her helmet, and tried to catch her breath. The doors were closing behind her. She didn't have the breath to tell Meg to stop, that Erik was still outside.

She staggered to her feet as a dark blur flew through the door. It collided with her a moment later. This time, she didn't feel the hard metal of the deck.

Erik was back to his human size. He had used his body to break her fall and his arm curled protectively around her. His rapid breathing played counterpoint with her own wheezing.

"So much for keeping a low profile. Are you alright?"

"Perfectly fine. I have natural armor, you know."

She leaned up and kissed his cheek, his flesh cold against her lips. "Thank you for saving us."

A thousand legs skittered with excitement, but his voice was steady. "If that was a common occurrence, then I understand why humans have such short lifespans."

She laughed. "Welcome to the team."


End file.
